“Die In” Staged in Manhattan to Protest Grand Jury Decision

Déjà vu. Another mother of a dead black man speaks out to protesters: Eric Garner’s mother Saturday urged the thousands of demonstrators who have taken to streets throughout nation in protest of her son’s death to “keep on doing it, but do it in peace.”

Gwen Carr, who appeared at a Harlem rally with the family lawyer of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, said a demonstration the other day left her she stuck in traffic on the West Side Highway in Manhattan. A protester recognized her and hugged her and “everybody else followed,” she said.

“My heart is overflowing with joy,” she said.

Esaw Garner Snipes, Garner’s widow, told the crowd that watching thousands of demonstrators from the window of her Staten Island, New York, home brought tears to her eyes. She said she told her son, “Look at all the love your father is getting.”

It is doubtful that a crowd incensed by what they perceive as ‘injustice’ will remain ‘peaceful’ for long. It is also doubtful that the protesters are assembling to show esteem for Eric Garner; rather they are showing their hatred for law enforcement officers.

A police officer stands over activists, demanding justice for the death of Eric Garner, as they stage a “die-in” during rush hour at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan on Dec. 3, 2014. A New York City grand jury on Wednesday declined to indict a white police officer who used a chokehold on an unarmed black man who died as police tried to arrest him for illegally selling cigarettes. The grand jury in the city’s borough of Staten Island decided against criminal charges for New York police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner. The deadly encounter on July 17 was captured on a video that quickly spread over the Internet and helped fuel debates about how U.S. police use force, particularly against minorities.

The Die In was captured on video [below]as the mob chants in unison, “I can’t breathe.”

In 2008 my life changed when Barack Obama came into my front yard on a campaign stop. I asked him why he wanted to raise taxes, and he said that he wanted to “spread the wealth.” Since then, I have gained a national following as “Joe the Plumber” and now travel the country speaking and encouraging other everyday folks to get involved in the political process.